


Pink Cupcakes and Green Tea

by YamiTasher



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: 2 skeletons for the price of 1 no returns no refunds, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, OCs for days son, Papyrus is Smarter than he presents himself, Sans Needs A Hug, Slow Burn, Specifically 6 of them, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-03-24 12:04:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13810821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YamiTasher/pseuds/YamiTasher
Summary: James' life is pretty okay - he's rooming with two other guys and has a stable job at a local convenience store, and has a few friends. He likes to stay cheerful, and his favourite guilty indulgence of a show is 'MTT - My Neighbor is an Undercover Star!'. He has his secrets and he likes to keep them that way.And then he meets Sans. Or rather, Sans scares the life outta him at work and they become friends.And then he realizes that his life has been a bit empty before the bright ray of sunshine that is Papyrus and his older, lazy, brother Sans wander into his life - and bring all sorts of chaos with them.





	1. A Good Time

**Author's Note:**

> I have a named MC who is male and has a personality and habits and secrets of his own but I hope I've made him relate-able enough for him to forge a connection with you, the reader. If you have any questions about James or you wanna talk come visit me on my tumblr (pinesexualpanapples). I have a pineapple with sunglasses as an icon.
> 
> I just really wanted to create a story for the Undertale fandom, and I noticed that male mc's don't get much love and I think that's a shame.
> 
> ps I love Papyrus. I think he's much smarter than he lets on but he's really subtle about it, and he's an absolute beacon of positive mental attitude and I wouldn't change that for the world.

“Mettaton! Will you please sign my book?”  
  


Impossibly, out of the hundreds of screaming fans, Mettaton heard James. Or maybe this was proof he had enhanced hearing? That was one of the less wild theories James had heard of the tv star.  
Either way, the giant box on a wheel was elegantly moving towards him, hand outstretched for the pen.

In a breath-taking moment, Mettaton had taken the pen and signed his name with a flourish, a big cartoon heart lighting up his screen for a second or two before his security was ushering him away – leaving James standing there, quite speechless,

and silently mourning the loss of his pen.

 

However, if he had to choose between keeping his pen and getting an autograph – well, that wasn’t a choice at all. Mettaton could keep the pen.  
He was so going to frame this. That is, if he didn’t get ripped apart by every screeching fan first. Mettaton didn’t encourage, or like, jealousy in his fandom but even though many looked up to him there were always the ones who lashed out.  
James fled quickly, clutching his book to his chest for dear life.

If anyone stole it, he would absolutely cry for several hours and complain about it for weeks afterwards.

 

Safe in his car, he gently touched the words and marvelled his luck. Maarten would tease him for being a fanboy and Alfred would maybe roll his eyes when he hung it up in their shared accommodation, but they’d still supported him getting the ticket and picking out his outfit.

 

On the long drive back home, he kept the book on the seat next to him. He couldn’t stop thinking about the glowing heart Mettaton shined at him and how flushed he’d felt. He hummed along gently to one of the many songs that had aired on the show and tapped the steering wheel to the beat – hopefully they would release a soundtrack for the third season soon – he couldn’t get ‘Starstruck Lovers’ out of his head.

He should get a cute heart-shaped pillow for his room! James brightened at the idea, already thinking about how it would go with his nicest bedsheets.

It would have to be a green heart though – because the sheets were a lovely green check, big and with a splash of red.

Or maybe a red heart would compliment the small amount of red in the check?

He’d ask Maarten – who was always much better at getting things to look good than he was. OR MAYBE he should get _multiple_ hearts!! Green _and_ red!

Yes, that was the way to go. Satisfied, James nodded his head and cheerfully turned on the cd system to listen to season one’s soundtrack again.

Everyone said season two’s soundtrack was the best, but he begged to differ. Mettaton’s voice in season one was more pronounced, and the instruments used were more classical than techno-like.

 

 

“I’m home!” James shouted into the dim apartment, shutting the door behind him quickly and bounding into the open-plan living room/kitchen combo.

Alfred was hunched over the coffee table, sitting on the floor, reading, a cup of tea next to him. He looked up when James bounced into the room, eyebrow raising.  
“Had fun?”

James nodded enthusiastically, clutching his book in front of him very obviously.  
“Yes, absolutely! I was waiting outside for a long time, but he turned up right on time! I’m glad I went early – I was near the front and I got to see him wheeling up and down – he gave us some little hints about season four!! Then right at the end he – he - !”

James loses himself in the excitement, gesturing the book at Alfred wildly and grinning from ear to ear.  
“He SIGNED my book!!”

He manages to squeal, loudly enough that a bedroom door opens down the hall and Maarten stumbles out sleepily.

 

“What’s goin’ on? Oh! James, you’re back earlier than I thought you would be.”

Maarten wanders up the hall and heads for the kitchen, smiling warmly at James as he passes,  
“Did you have a good time?”

“Mettaton signed his book.” Alfred states, eyeing the book with mild curiosity. James hands it over but hovers nervously nearby. Alfred idly flicks to the page as Maarten rushes over, leaning over Alfred’s shoulder and bracing himself against the broad back.

“No way! Lemme see!” He exclaims, gasping dramatically when the flashy signature is revealed. He staggers away, slapping a hand to his forehead, collapsing onto the sofa with the other hand clutching at his heart.

“Ugh, my eyes! The sight of something…so majestic…it’s too much for my mortal body!”

Alfred cackles and hands the book back to James, who takes it and hits Maarten’s leg with it, but he’s giggling, and Maarten is grinning like the asshole he is.  
“Shut up Maarten! I told you I would get his autograph and you didn’t believe I could!”

“Good for you, James.” Alfred says, stretching his legs for a second before leaning back on his hands. “Ignore Maarten – he’s just jealous.”

Maarten nods solemnly, “It’s true. I have a raging crush on Mettatron and I didn’t know how to tell you.” 

James rolls his eyes and spins on his heel to scurry away with his prize, ready to bust out his laptop to order a heart-shaped cushion and change into his comfy pyjamas.  
“It’s Mettaton, you ass! And I had a good time, thank you for asking.”  
  


Maarten and Alfred each call out similar goodnights and James settles into his room. He’s not as crazy or devoted as other fans but he’s still got a poster hanging proudly on his wall and a published artbook of the show on his shelf.

Other than that, his room is pretty normal – star patterned pastel blue curtains and cream walls with blue and purple stars near the top, and a pale purple carpet. It’s nice, and the soft colours help relax him when he’s feeling particularly stressed.

James places his book on the desk and flops back onto his bed. If only his life could be as exciting as the show – romance and drama, with just the right amount of hurt to allow for growth of character, and best of all, a cool person cheering him on.

Not that Maarten and Alfred weren’t cool… His life might be a bit dull sometimes, but he supposed he should be thankful he had a steady one.


	2. Two Skeletons Short of a Joke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see the place James works at...and he gains a new friend, or two.

Even now, several months later, James still liked to recall the only time he’d met Mettaton. The autograph had been hanging proudly above the tv ever since he’d got it framed.

_To my beloved fan, dream big sweetheart! Love, Mettaton oxox_

Maarten helped him pick a frame – a nice simple black one – and Alfred had put it on the wall with minimal eyerolling. _Really James, above the tv?_ He’d asked exasperatedly, but James refused to budge. He wanted to see the signature when he watched the show.

Bemused, the two let him, and he’d found a hastily scrawled signature of Maarten blu-tacked to his bedroom wall when he’d come home from work later that day.

He kept that too, and then – just to be a little shit – asked Alfred for his signature to go next to Maarten’s. 

None of his co-workers had believed him when he said he’d met the star _and_ got an autograph. Until he’d shown them a photo of it hanging, and then they went crazy. Most congratulating him, whilst others simply smiling patiently as he rambled on.

 

James smiled to himself as he absentmindedly put cartons of milk into the store fridge. It was still crazy to think he’d saved up for a ticket to see Mettaton and he’d walked away with a priceless memory.  
He wondered what he was gonna make for dinner tonight, as it was his turn to cook. Alfred liked simple meals, but Maarten liked spice – and both Alfred and himself didn’t.  
Although Alfred could handle spice, he didn’t bother eating much spicy food. James just didn’t like how it made his nose run and his mouth burn.

“hey buddy.”

James jumped so hard he dropped the carton of milk he was in the middle of putting on the shelf, gasping, he leapt back as it hit the floor and split – sending milk splashing out in many directions.  
He stared down at it in shock for a split second before panicking and spinning around to apologize to the customer and rush off for tissues.  
Only…his words died on his tongue, because standing in front of him was a skeleton.

A skeleton in pink fluffy slippers and clad in jogging bottoms and a white tee with a blue fur-lined jacket, and white dots of light in his dark eye sockets. There seemed to be sweat on the skull.

“heh. so, is one of us meant to be crying right now?”

James stared blankly at them for a second before his mind clicked the joke and he laughed weakly, still somewhat in shock.

“No use crying over spilt milk.”  
He joked back, before becoming very aware of how wet his shoes were suddenly feeling and jumping out of the puddle that was rapidly forming underneath him with a quiet yelp.

“Sorry, I’ll be right back.” He assured in a rush as he dashed off to get cleaning materials and an empty bucket for the milk. By the time he’d got back another skeleton had joined the first and if the first one had been shorter than him, then the second almost towered over James.  
The second was also very loud.

“HELLO HUMAN, I AM HERE TO ASSIST WITH CLEANUP!”

James gingerly crouched down and scooped up the milk carton, depositing it in the bucket. He looked up at the tall skeleton and shook his head,  
“It’s, um, it’s alright. It was my fault, and you’re a customer. I couldn’t ask you to help clean up my mess.”

He started liberally slapping down paper towels to soak up the milk, the bottle of antibacterial spray nearby and at the ready. James anxiously watched the taller skeleton reach for the roll with loud proclaims of,  
“IT IS NO PROBLEM, HUMAN. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM WILLING TO HELP ANYONE IN NEED!” 

“ALSO! SANS TOLD ME HE SCARED YOU, SO IT IS NOT ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT, AFTER ALL!”

James tried to stammer out an excuse to get the skeleton – apparently called Papyrus – to stop helping,  
“Oh, but, it’s my job to do this – so it’s really okay.”

Papyrus’ eye sockets went wide, and it took James so aback (could bone really do that??) that he nearly missed the reply. Alright, he lied, it was hard to miss the reply when it was said so loudly.  
“IT’S YOUR JOB TO DROP MILK ONTO THE FLOOR??”

“Wh-what?! No!” James couldn’t help it, he started laughing. He braced himself against the floor and took breaths until his laughing had subsided into giggling. “My job is customer service assistant. If something spills, a part of my job is to clean it up, so no one slips in it and gets hurt.”

Papyrus’ expression clears up and he grins widely. “OF COURSE! I KNEW THAT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS JAPED YOU, AND NOW THE FLOOR IS CLEAN, AND I HELPED SAVE THE DAY!”

“that’s pretty cool, bro.” Sans pips up from nearby. He’d been inspecting a box of batter mix as they talked and was now looking over his shoulder at them.

James gaped at Papyrus – that was so sneaky! How had he managed to clean it all up so fast?! He hastily dropped his wet wad of tissues into the rather full bucket – what? When? – and stood up, eyeing Papyrus curiously.

“…thank you. For helping me.” _Even though you didn’t have to_.

Papyrus’ insistence on helping brings a smile to James’ face, it’s not every day he meets a customer so genuinely nice. He beams at Papyrus and then has to tilt his neck back when the skeleton returns to his full height. Oh wow, okay, yeah he’s tall.  
He looks at Sans and smiles at him too. The switch between heights is almost dizzying.

“Sorry for dropping the milk, you didn’t get splashed, I hope?” 

Sans shrugs. “na. sorry for makin’ you jump – must’ve been a _bone-rattling_ experience for ya.”

Papyrus stamps his foot suddenly and pouts like a child, and James has to force himself to stop wondering how facial expressions are possible with skeletons before he hurts his brain.  
“SANS! YOU’LL SCARE HIM AWAY WITH YOUR HORRIBLE PUNS!”

“sorry bro.” Sans says, not sounding sorry in the slightest. He lazily closes an eye socket and continues, “he hasn’t run yet though, guess he has a bit of a… _backbone_ after all.”

James laughs as Papyrus’ bulks and dramatically cups a gloved hand over Sans’ grinning mouth.

“I APOLOGIZE FOR MY BROTHER, HE THINKS HE’S GOT A FUNNY BONE.”

Papyrus freezes abruptly and James can see Sans’ eye sockets crinkle at the edges in amusement. He wheezes in an attempt not to laugh at Papyrus’ accidental joke but the damage is done and Papyrus wails in despair and runs from the shop in shame.  
Sans chuckles deeply and reaches into the fridge to pick up a carton of milk, placing it in a basket James never noticed before.

“you got a name to go with that pretty face?”  
Sans says casually, lazily strolling off and forcing James to hurry after him to answer the question. After all, the customer is the most important thing, and it would be rude to not answer.  
James flushed a tiny bit at being called pretty but figured Sans was joking around again.

“I’m James, and you’re Sans, right?”

Sans nods, humming in affirmation. He stops next to the condiment section.  
“can you get me the big bottle of ketchup? seems gravity is pushing down on me.”

James takes that as he’s too lazy to reach up and get it and snorts very softly as he easily plucks a bottle from the shelf and gently lays it in the basket.  
“And that was your brother, Papyrus?” 

He’s deadly curious as to why they need the food and such – surely two skeletons wouldn’t be able to eat food? Wouldn’t it just hit the floor? But he knows better than to ask.  
Sans’ lazy grin stretches into something very proud.  
“sure is.”

His voice is layered in such affection, it has James smiling too. He wanders after Sans as they move off, further into the store and towards the packet foods. There are some curious questions he feels safe enough to ask without pushing any boundaries, though.

“I’ve never seen you two around before, have you moved here recently?”  


James wordlessly hands Sans a packet of pasta noodles when he points to it. Sans plops it into the basket and almost turns away before deciding he needs another one.

“been here a couple of months actually, just didn’t know this store was here. it’s pretty _convenient_.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we’re a convenience store then – Oh.”  
James paused minutely as his brain registered the joke. Sans chuckles at him as they make their way back towards the front of the store.

The checkouts come into sight and Sans gets into the short que. Sandra – the checkout lady – glances at Sans and then does a doubletake. She stares at him and then her gaze quickly flicks to James with a tilt of an eyebrow. James smiles at her and she purses her lips and goes back to scanning.

He can’t really stay any longer, but Sans is enjoyable company. Reluctantly, he steps away and thinks about how he’s just left a bucket of grossness in the middle of an isle.

 

“Well, come back any time! I’m here a lot so…yeah. Bye Sans, tell Papyrus I said thanks again.”  
James grins at Sans and gives him a short wave before backing away and turning to go.

“seeya around kid, i’ll make sure he gets the message.”  
Sans flaps a hand at him and goes back to dumping his basket onto the conveyer belt. James goes back to his job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just like to thank the Undertale fans who responded so positively to my post about making this fic. I wanted to do it but I was reluctant to post it, and without the people who encouraged me I would have lost steam and never started.  
> As always, hmu if you wanna talk about the fic, James, or anything really at pinesexualpanapples on tumbr (pineapple with sunglasses icon)


	3. Kiss It Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus visits James at work again, and they become stronger friends

It’s a little over a few days before Papyrus dramatically bursts into the shop, shocking Floor Manager Lorenzo into choking on his coffee, and intently scours the shop for James.  
He finds James near the back of the store, writing off a smashed jar and nursing a small cut.

“HUMAN! I REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE! AN IMPORTANT FRIEND OF MINE IS COMING OVER FOR DINNER AND I NEED IDEAS FO—IS THAT BLOOD??”

Papyrus zeros in on the bleeding cut mid-ramble. James had jumped violently when Papyrus’ voice reached him so suddenly but that had gone unnoticed by Papyrus, so he’d patiently waited for Papyrus to be finished talking before placing the smashed jar into a box with all the other pieces.  
James glances down at his cut and up at the concerned Papyrus,

“Yeah, I cut myself on the glass – but it’s okay, Papyrus. It’s small.”

“BLEEDING IS NOT GOOD FOR A HUMAN! WE NEED TO TEND TO IT IMMEDIATELY!”

Bemused, James presses an already-bloody tissue to it, putting pressure on the cut to stop the bleeding. He nods in agreement at Papyrus though, taking him seriously.  
“Of course, there’s a first aid kit in the office, but I just needed to write off the glass first. I didn’t want anyone touching it whilst I was gone and doing the same thing.”

Papyrus contemplates this for a few seconds, hand under his jawbone and brow furrowed.  
“AN ADMIRAL COURSE OF ACTION, HUMAN, JUST REMEMBER TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.”  
He declares, and Lorenzo slides into view, still holding onto his coffee.

“I heard the word ‘bleeding’ and came over. Is everything okay, James?”  
He leans over to peer at James’ hand and James shows him the cut. Watching as blood wells up again. Lorenzo clicks his tongue.

“Be careful next time – I told you to use the dustpan and brush – honestly I step out for 5 seconds and you’re throwing yourself at some glass. Lemme get the kit.”  
Lorenzo grumbles to himself as he slips past James to get to the back room.

“Keep pressure on it and elevate your hand above your shoulder!” He yells from inside the room, and James complies.

“Lorenzo is our store’s first aider.” James explains to Papyrus, who lights up in understanding.

“I SHOULD LEARN HUMAN FIRST AID! I CAN’T BELIEVE I DIDN’T THINK OF THIS BEFORE!”

“That’s nice, Papyrus.” James smiles at him, “It’s always useful to know first aid. Now, what were you saying about dinner guests?”

“OH YES! I NEED IDEAS FOR A MEAL! I ALWAYS COOK MY SPECIAL SPAGETTI, BUT I FEEL AS THOUGH I NEED TO TRY SOMETHING NEW!”  
Papyrus declares, watching closely as Lorenzo steps back out the room and smacks down a green box with a white cross on it, and opens it to riffle around.  
James hums, contemplating Papyrus’ dilemma.

“Well what about lasagne? It’s a different kind of pasta, but it’s very nice. You can serve it with vegetables, or just on its own.”

“Hand, please.” Lorenzo asks, and James plops his hand into Lorenzo’s open palm. Papyrus’ gaze flickers to James for a second before snapping back to watch as Lorenzo swipes an antiseptic wipe over the cut and efficiently places a plaster over it.

“HMMM, I GUESS THAT WOULD BE GOOD – BUT WHAT ABOUT DESSERT?”

“There, all better.”

Distracted from Papyrus, James pouts at Lorenzo, “It still hurts.”

Lorenzo grins roguishly, “Want me to kiss it better?”  
James giggles and shakes his head, gently slapping his hand into Lorenzo’s grinning face and pushing it away. “Go back to work!”  
Lorenzo laughs and packs the kit away, backing into the room and shutting the door.

“IS ‘KISSING IT BETTER’ USUALLY INCLUDED IN FIRST AID?”

James jumps slightly, flushing, and initially thinks Papyrus is joking. After looking at the curious expression he’s being put under, and detecting no japery, he could only conclude that Papyrus was oddly serious about it.

“Uh, no it isn’t. It’s just something silly we say to children – if they get hurt and they’re crying – it’s an easy way to stop them being upset, or to make them laugh.”

Papyrus nods seriously and seems to absorb the information. James remembers the previous question and begins running his mind through a list of easy-to-make desserts.

“As for your other question – what about a trifle? Or jelly is a fun dessert.”

This snaps Papyrus back into his previous thoughts, “OH! A TRIFLE! A CUTLNARY MASTERPIECE! YOU HAVE SOME VERY GOOD IDEAS, HUMAN.”

James glows in happiness at the compliment, “Thank you Papyrus!”

Papyrus pats his head and begins excitedly jabbering about making the best trifle the world has ever seen. He scoops James into his side and whisks him off to different parts of the store to gather ingredients. James helps him pick which jelly flavour should go into the trifle and Papyrus insists on holding the basket the whole time, even as it starts to get very full and James starts to worry it might be getting too heavy.  
But Papyrus just assures him he’s very strong and can handle the basket with ease.  
By the time they get to the checkout, James forgets for a split second that he’s actually at work and, y’know, is working. Supposed to be working, anyway.  
Lorenzo is back from break and watching James and Papyrus from three isles away with a large grin, and Sandra is staring at James in amusement. Listening to the conversation.  
James flushes and hastily backs away, out of Papyrus’ near hold.

“I’ve gotta go do other things now, Papyrus, but if you ever need help again – I’m sure I’ll be around. I usually am.”  
He smiles up at Papyrus and scurries away as Papyrus shouts after him,

“GOODBYE HUMAN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP TODAY! I SHALL MOST CERTAINLY CALL ON YOU AGAIN SHOULD I EVER NEED ASSISTENCE.”

Of course, the rest of his day is quite dull compared to the first half, and when he makes it back to the flat he’s more than happy to flop onto the sofa and idly flip through channels. He squashes the urge to make a trifle.  
Maarten emerges from the bathroom half hour later, clad in a towel, and just about spots James on the sofa and shouts a greeting as he disappears into his bedroom.  
James shouts one back and then hears a hairdryer start up.

He’s halfway through a re-run of Hell’s Kitchen when Maarten emerges from his room, tapping away at his phone’s screen with a concentrated look on his face and all dolled up in his ‘clubbing gear’ – which consisted of a black mesh top and faux leather pants with biker boots. There’s a chain belt, which is new, and he’s meticulously painted his nails black and there’s tiny silver stars on each nail.

“Hello Mr Edgelord, it’s nice to see you again.”  
James greets languidly, admiring the perfectly winged eyeliner. Maarten looks at him and grins widely, the tiny chains on his black choker glinting in the light,

“Meeting Hanna, be back late.”

Oh, now the get-up made sense. Hanna liked to dress super cutesy, and Maarten always made a point of being the exact opposite so they stood out when they were together. Weirdos.  
James raises an eyebrow.

“Where you headed?”

“Next town over’s got a human-monster bar, she wants to go so I’m driving her – sounds like fun.”

“Stay sober this time – Alfred won’t be happy about picking your ass up in the dead of night again. I don’t want an argument like last time, understand?”

Maarten laughs and nods, “Yeah that was pretty naughty of me, don’t worry, I’ll be a good boy this time.”

James smiles at him, calling out as he walks away towards the front door, “Say hi to Hanna for me! Invite her over for tea sometime, okay?”

“Sure thing, sweetness.”

And then Maarten is gone. He’s got to get a picture of that get-up one of these days, Maarten does it so rarely it’s kind of a treat to see it.

Not long after he’s gone, Alfred stumbles in looking haggard.  
James is, at this point, fully stretched out on the sofa and has to make room or else he’s in danger of Alfred simply laying on him and crushing him.

“How was work today?”

Alfred grumbles at he riffles through the fridge and pulls out a small bottle of orange juice and a bar of chocolate.  
He shrugs, “Alright. Who’s cooking dinner tonight?”

James freezes as he remembers, then he sighs loudly and groans, “Maarten. But he’s gone out so it’s down to one of us.”

“Are we serious right now. Fucker! Fine, I’ll do it, what do’u fancy?”

James forces himself up and wanders over to the agitated Alfred, leaning against him and humming in contemplation.  
“I’ll do it tonight – you look tired. How about pasta bake? Or would you like something faster?”

Alfred must be tired, because he gives up without argument and agrees to pasta before making his way up the hall to his bedroom. James busies himself with pulling out ingredients and firing off a scolding text to Maarten, who responds in confusion and then apologies, finally settling on promising to do an extra night to make up for this one.  
Satisfied, James goes back to the pasta and thinks about how Papyrus’ evening must be going – well he hopes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this update :) I think I did a good job writing Papyrus, and we'll start seeing a lot more of the skeleton brothers in future chapters


	4. Rain, Rain, Come Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weather takes a turn for the worse, James doesn't mind either way.

Papyrus and Sans become regulars in the shop James works in, although Papyrus is more often seen than Sans.  
Even so, James looks forward to the possibility of seeing either of the brothers whilst he’s on shift. It makes every day brighter, even if he doesn’t see them he’ll always have the memory of being down the drinks isle and watching Papyrus debate hotly about Pepsi v Coke and how both are bad for you anyway, so you should drink juice instead.  
Or how Sans accidentally tipped over their entire display of biscuits and it took him, Lorenzo and Sans himself (working half-heartedly) to put it back to rights.  
Being with them seemed to be an occupational hazard and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

They hadn’t come in today – it seemed that the rain had made a lot of people stay indoors as the shop wasn’t as busy as normal. James quietly swept the floor, getting rid of all the dust and glitter – someone had ordered several glittery candles displays and said glitter didn’t like staying on the product but was otherwise quite happy to stick to literally everything else.  
Hopefully it was just a one-off thing and not a regular item in stock. He didn’t think he could handle finding more glitter in his hair or shaking it out of his clothes.  
Thankfully, it was the end of his shift and he gathered his things, bidding farewell to Sandra in the break room and made his way to the front of the shop to stare outside.  
He wished he’d bought a coat. Or an umbrella.  
But the weather forecast hadn’t mentioned rain at all! So he wasn’t prepared, and now he was paying for it.

Gingerly, he opened the door a ways and very nearly collided into Papyrus.  
He yelped, Papyrus yelped, Lorenzo jumped from his position behind the checkout and peered over the counter to see what was going on.

“Oh, hey Papyrus.” He greets, waving. The two of them had warmed up to each other when Papyrus kept asking for first aid pointers, and Lorenzo was all too happy to provide.

“GREETINGS HUMAN!” He looks down at James and ushers him back inside. “HELLO AGAIN, I HOPE YOU WEREN’T ABOUT TO STEP OUT INTO THAT HORRIBLE WEATHER.”

He sounds scolding, as though telling off a small child, and James meekly ducks his head and fiddles with the bottom of his polo. He bats his eyelashes up at Papyrus and smiles,  
“I was just about to go home! I can’t go home if I don’t step outside.”

Papyrus bulks, “WHERE IS YOUR COAT? I’VE HEARD THAT HUMANS GET ILL EASILY IN BAD WEATHER.”

James shifts and glances at Lorenzo for help but receives a shit-eating grin in return.  
“Well, I don’t have a coat…so I was just going to walk home.”

“AN UMBRELLA?”

“Nope.”

“A PLASTIC BAG TO HOLD OVER YOUR HEAD?”

“I would rather not, and it wouldn’t help much anyway.”

Papyrus deflates a little, clearly thinking hard. Then he brightens, “ACCOMPANY ME AROUND THE STORE! PERHAPS THE RAIN WILL STOP WHILST WE’RE IN HERE!”

“It would be more likely chased away by your sunny disposition.” Lorenzo drawls, watching as James gets pulled along and away from the door.

“THAT WILL BE OUR LAST RESORT!” Papyrus shouts, finger dramatically pointing into the air. James hurries to keep up and doesn’t complain about being pulled around like a ragdoll – it wasn’t as though he’d been in a hurry to go home.  
Papyrus does a good job of distracting him, asking about recipes and whether he should try making cupcakes or just stick to perfecting what he’s already good at making – the reasoning being that if he can make an incredibly good dinner set then people would be more impressed than if he knew how to cook many things adequately.  
James argued that knowing how to cook many things was better than specific things because not everyone likes the same things, and wouldn’t it be better to be able to please many people than only a few?

“GASP! BY STARS, YOU’RE RIGHT!” Papyrus claps his gloved hands to his cheeks and James swears blind there are small stars suddenly in Papyrus’ eye sockets.

“IF I CAN COOK MANY THINGS, AND PLEASE MANY PEOPLE – THEN I’LL BE EVEN MORE POPULAR!”

“You can look at it that way. It also helps because some people have allergies and being able to work around those allergies and find something they can eat and will enjoy is very important.”

Papyrus absorbs all this with a look of pure concentration. “AH, YES, ALLERGIES. HELLO SANS!”

“sup bro? kiddo.”

James gasps and spins around, jumping back to see Sans standing so closely next to him.  
“When did you get here? I didn’t hear you approaching.”

“stealth slippers.”

James glances down at the pink slippers and winces, “Please tell me you didn’t go out into the rain wearing those.”

Sans’ grin widens, “yep.”

“Sans!” James wails, appalled. They must be soaking, it has got to be uncomfortable. “Aren’t your feet wet?”

“eh. they’ll dry. couldn’t be bothered to find my wellies.”

The thought of Sans wearing bright yellow wellington boots was a cute one, but still.  
“Don’t be so lazy! You could get ill if you walk around outside like that in this weather!”

“funny, I heard from a little birdy that you were trying to do the same thing.”

James glances at Papyrus, who is now whistling very loudly and off-key as sweat drips down his skull. His hand is shaking at he puts down a box of tissues. James turns his attention back to Sans sheepishly,  
“I wasn’t being lazy! I just…wasn’t prepared. And I don’t live…that far away.”

Sans pokes his side suddenly with a pink umbrella that he had no clue the short skeleton had been holding until now.  
“if it’s so close then we’ll walk you back.”

James startles and opens his mouth to protest that they didn’t have to do that but Papyrus jumps in suddenly,  
“WHAT A GREAT IDEA SANS! AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY EACH OTHERS COMPANY AND MAKE SURE WE ALL GET BACK HOME DRY.”

Well, when he says it like that, James isn’t sure he can refuse without sounding rude or defensive. He sneaks a contemplative glance at Papyrus and wonders if he’d said that deliberately to make sure James couldn’t back out.  
He smiles at Papyrus, either way, it was quite nice to have someone looking out for him. Two someone’s, actually.

“That sounds like a plan to me, Papyrus. Thank you guys for offering to walk me home, sorry if it’s out of your way a bit.”

Sans just shrugs and strolls off, now carrying both the umbrella and the basket – when had that happened?! – and Papyrus beams at him,  
“IT’S NO PROBLEM, HUMAN FRIEND, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HAPPY TO HELP THOSE IN NEED!”

“My hero.” James comments dryly but huffs a laugh and grins, ambling along to catch up with Sans. It was probably the lighting, but he was almost sure he saw Papyrus’ face light up orange for a second.

James idled by and waited for Sans and Papyrus to pay and bag their shopping – they’d declined when he’d offered to help pack – and it was then that he noticed that there was only one umbrella…and three of them.  
They joined him at the door and Papyrus threw it open with flair, Sans opened the umbrella as he stepped under Papyrus’ arm and into the outside, and James hesitantly followed.

Sans couldn’t be bothered to hold the umbrella high enough for the both of them and gave it to James instead, who stood close to ensure the rain wasn’t hitting either of them.  
Now, ask anyone and they’ll say that sharing an umbrella is romantic, but most importantly, they’ll most certainly agree that umbrellas are not meant to house more than two people.  
Papyrus steps under the umbrella and James giggles because this has immediately stopped working as an idea and is now a disaster. Sans is not in the umbrellas range and is getting rained on.  
Also, the umbrella is now high enough into the air that it’s not actually providing James much protection either – but Papyrus is dry, and James counts that as a win.

“NYOO HOO HOO, MY PLAN FAILED!” Papyrus looks pretty down about this development. James pats his…arm…consolingly and silently marvels the feel of bone.

“It’s alright Papyrus, I appreciate the effort. I don’t mind getting a little wet.”

“wait here.” Sans speaks up suddenly, disappearing back into the shop. He reappears seconds later, almost before the door has even fully finished closing, and he’s got another umbrella.  
James stares at it,

“Where did you get that? We don’t sell umbrellas.”

“took a shortcut home.” Sans does his little slow wink and grins hard as though he’s just told a joke, but James really doesn’t get it.

“What?”

Sans chuckles and pops the umbrella up, handing it to James, who ducks under it. Papyrus brightens up,  
“EXCELLENT SANS! THIS IS A VERY PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT! AND TO AVOID THE SAME SITUATION AGAIN – HUP! – HERE!”

Papyrus crouches down and more or less scoops Sans onto his back before standing up and wearing Sans like a new backpack. James squeals with laughter and delight at the height solution – with Sans clinging to Papyrus’ back they were the same height and with Papyrus holding the umbrella, neither of them could get wet.  
Sans stares down at him and grins widely again,

“you okay down there? Not feeling too bonely I hope.”

Papyrus lets of a soft ‘nyeh’ of annoyance but doesn’t take offense to the pun as James laughs at it and shakes his head. The three of them set off, James leading the way.  
He realizes that – with two umbrellas – the brothers didn’t have to walk him home after all, but perhaps they just wanted to.  
He guessed it was nice to have someone to talk to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, this fic updates bi-weekly so next chapter should be up on or around 4/4/18. I have a rough timeline of what I want to happen and when, so I'll see you guys in chapter 5!


	5. Meet The Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James realizes that he's never mentioned Sans or Papyrus to Alfred or Maarten and hopes both parties like each other

“Would – Would you like to come in? I can make tea, and we can wait for the rain to pass.”

James offers tentatively, looking up at them both with one hand digging into his pocket for his key. Are they far enough into a friendship for him to be inviting them into his home? He supposes that if they were kind enough to care about walking him home then they were open to chilling together.

Papyrus brightens as Sans nods,  
“WE WOULD LOVE TO, WOULDN’T WE, SANS?”  
“sure kid, sounds swell.”

James smiles radiantly at them and fumbles with the key for a second before swinging the foyer door open. He folds the umbrella down and steps inside, holding the door open.  
“If this door shuts and you don’t have a key then you can’t get in – but if you wanna visit, then you can push number 24’s buzzer and I’ll let you in.”

He indicates to the panel of labelled buttons on the outside of the building and Sans nods again in understanding.

“I’m on the 4th floor, but we have an elevator if you don’t feel like taking the stairs.”

Predictably, Sans wanders straight over to the elevator and pushes the button with a cheeky grin as Papyrus gasps in outrage,

“SANS! NO! DON’T BE LAZY, IT’S ONLY FOUR FLOORS!”

James squirms and inches towards Sans guiltily, “I take the elevator a lot.”  
Papyrus laments loudly, flapping his arms, but decides to also ride the elevator and pouts the whole way.

“Don’t worry, Papyrus, we’ll take the stairs next time.” James consoles him, glancing at Sans, “Even if we end up carrying Sans.”

Sans winks, happily lounging against the side of the elevator, “you keepin’ an eye socket out for me, buddy?”

“NO PUNS WHERE I CANNOT ESCAPE!”  
Papyrus grouches as James giggles, listening to the door ‘ding!’ to say they’ve arrived.

It’s as James is now fumbling with his front door key that he realizes something rather important – Alfred and Maarten, whom have never met Sans and Papyrus before, and neither party knew the other existed.  
He sweats. That was…quite an oversight. Well, he knew Maarten and Alfred wouldn’t have a problem with two monsters coming in, but he probably should have forewarned them that guests were coming.  
Silently hoping the apartment wasn’t in a complete state, he swings open the door and calls out.

“I’m home!”

Papyrus and Sans startle ever so slightly as two voices call back, one from quite close by.

“Hey James.”  
“Welcome back!”

Alfred is closest, sitting on the floor with controller in hand and concentrating intently on the tv screen – where his little character was running down a square fabric path.  
James looks back at Sans and Papyrus apologetically,

“The one sitting over there is Alfred, and the other is Maarten – they’re my roommates. Sorry I didn’t tell you about them, I was excited and forgot they were here.”

Papyrus recovers extremely well and bounds over to Alfred, who’s in the middle of pausing his game curiously – having heard James introducing him.  
Alfred turns his head and leans away in surprise as Papyrus looms over him, he stares impassively up at the bright grin and raises an eyebrow.

“HELLO HUMAN!” Papyrus enthuses, holding out a hand for Alfred to shake. “I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND THAT IS MY BROTHER, SANS.”

Alfred adjusts himself so he can lean back on one arm and free the other to shake Papyrus’ hand. He tilts his head to the side and sees Sans – who hasn’t moved from his spot near the door – and nods at him when Sans raises a hand in greeting.

“sup?”

“Ceiling.” Alfred says automatically before turning his attention back to Papyrus, “I’m Alfred.” He says shortly.  
Clearly wondering what all the noise was about, Maarten slides into the room and catches sight of Papyrus, jaw dropping in surprise for a second before it snaps shut and he grins welcomingly, coming forward to introduce himself.

“Hey there, I’m Maarten, the annoying roommate.”

Papyrus clasps his offered hand and shakes, “IS THAT YOUR PROFESSION?” He jokes. Maarten’s grin widens as he chuckles,  
“It certainly feels like my job title sometimes.”  
Papyrus laughs and turns to usher Sans over to them excitedly. Sans winks at James as he goes, leaving him wondering what was about to happen. Maarten finally sees Sans and lights up in delight at having another monster in the flat.

“I’m sans, sans the skeleton.”  
He holds out his hand to shake and James watches with baited breath, already starting to giggle as Maarten takes the hand and a loud, inappropriate, noise fills the air.  
Alfred is startled into laughter and doubles over at the look of utter surprise on Maarten’s face. Papyrus slaps a hand to his forehead and Sans looks overly pleased with himself.

“Well I can’t say that’s ever happened to me before.” Maarten remarks, shaking his head in amusement. “You got me good.”

“The ol’ woopie cushion in the hand trick,” Sans wipes an invisible tear from his eye socket, “It never gets old.”  
He collapses onto the sofa, apparently completely at ease, and focuses on the tv. “What’cha playing?”

Alfred starts to frown now that his attention has been bought back to what he was doing beforehand.  
“Ilomilo. It’s a puzzle game – each level I’ve got to find a way for these two shits to reunite. But I can’t figure this one out.”

Suddenly very interested, Papyrus sits down on the sofa beside Sans and studies the screen intently.  
“CAN YOU REPLAY LEVELS?”

“Uh, yeah. Why?” Alfred turns his head towards Papyrus expectantly. Papyrus grins at him,  
“WOULD YOU MIND REPEATING ONE OF THE OPENING LEVELS, SO I KNOW THE GAMES MECHANICS?”

Alfred’s lips curl up ever so slightly in amusement, “Sure thing. You wanna play it yourself, or do you want me to replay it so you get the gist?”

Papyrus considers this before shaking his head, “YOU REPLAY IT, IT WILL BE QUICKER THAT WAY BECAUSE YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW THE GAME WORKS AND I CAN SEE IT FLUIDLY.”

“Alright. I’ll replay the first three levels ‘cause it introduces different elements.”

James and Maarten steal bemused glances at each other, not sure what to do, as Alfred restarts the game from the beginning and Papyrus leans forwards in intense concentration. James quietly pads towards his room to get out of his work clothes, followed by Maarten.

“Sans and Papyrus? You didn’t tell us you’d made new friends.” Maarten pouts, flopping down on the bed as James tugs his polo over his head and shoves it into the basket.  
“To be fair, they didn’t know about you two either. It was a surprise for everyone. I guess I just forget to mention them?”

Maarten turns his head and hums questioningly, which James interprets as an actual question,  
“I haven’t known them long – they came into the shop one day and, uh,”

He flushes slightly, remembering how his first meeting with Sans went.  
“Well, I met Sans first, and then Papyrus shortly afterward. I thought it was a one-off, but they kept coming back and now they’re regulars. I like them, they’re very…unique?”

James smiles fondly, recalling memories of them together. Maarten grins,  
“They must like you too, you guys are friends, right?”

“Yeah!”

“Then they’re not gonna judge you if you put that on.” Maarten points to the item of clothing that James was hesitating to put away. James flushes, shoulders hunching.

“May-Maybe another time. When we know each other better.”

Maarten shrugs, “Fair enough.”

James quickly shoves on some warm leggings and a long, knitted, navy blue jumper, and ushers Maarten from his room. They backtrack to the living room.

“Anyone want a drink? We got coffee, tea, or apple juice.”  
Maarten offers the room at large and Alfred immediately pips up,

“Apple juice.” He pauses and then adds, “Please.”

Papyrus manages to tear his eyes away from the tv for a moment to address Maarten’s question,  
“I’M QUITE FINE, THANK YOU.”

“heh, no thanks, it would just go right through me.”

James stares at Sans curiously, clearly wondering the same thing as the other two, although it was Alfred who was brave enough to ask.

“Is that a joke, or can you guys really not eat or drink the same way we do?”  
He’s still focusing on the game, but the familiarity of the levels allowed for a lapse in pure concentration. Maarten hovers curiously nearby, hesitating to move away in case he misses the answer.  
“WE CAN, TO AN EXTENT, CONSUME HUMAN FOOD. IT DOES NOT DO MUCH FOR US THOUGH, IN TERMS OF ENERGY AND SUSTANANCE. SANS WAS LARGLY JOKING.”

“you guys should try monster food sometime, i hear it’s quite magical.”  
Sans chimes in, chuckling softly. Maarten cheerfully laughs along with him, nodding in agreement.

James stares at Maarten incredulously, “You’ve had monster food before?” He asks. At floor level, Alfred laughs quietly and says,

“Of course he has. All those monster-human bars he goes to? They gotta serve monster food there, right?”

Maarten finger guns Alfred, winking, “You got it, sweet cheeks!”

“Don’t call me that.” “Why didn’t you ever tell me?? I wanna try monster food too!”

James pouts at Maarten (who grins teasingly and departs for the kitchen), displeased, arms crossed. Sans tilts his head slightly, still very much apart of the sofa – he seemed to be sinking into it rather than sitting on it.

“you don’t have’ta go far, y’know. paps can cook monster food.”

Interested, Papyrus joins in the conversation, actually turning his attentions to James and away from the screen.

“THAT IS VERY TRUE, SANS! BUT I DOUBT THE HUMANS HAVE MONSTER INGREDIENTS HERE. WHICH MEANS WE MUST -!” He lights up and dramatically claps his hands to his face, “GO GROCERY SHOPPING TOGETHER!! WOWIE! A CHANCE TO SPEND EVEN MORE TIME TOGETHER!”

“SOON WE WILL BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS!” He declares passionately, and he’s decidedly staring straight at James when he says it. James flushes, stumbling under Papyrus’ enthusiastic personality,

“That would be…really nice, Papyrus. I like spending time with you too.” He smiles at Papyrus and turns his attention to Sans, not wanting the other to be left out.

“Will you come with us, Sans, whenever we have the time to do this? I’ll have to check my rota for the next couple of weeks to see when I have the free time.”

Sans shrugs lackadaisically, “eh, i’ll see if I can make it. no promises, kid.”

“That’s okay,” James says cheerfully, “I’ll let you know when it is and you tell me if you’re up for it, no problem.”

By this time, Maarten has come back with the requested apple juice but leaves again, and Alfred has finished the first three levels. James sits on the arm of the sofa and settles in as Papyrus leans forward and asks Alfred to begin the level he was stuck at again.

“Sure. You wanna DIY it?”

“I AM UNSURE WHAT D.I.Y MEANS.”

“Do it yourself.”

“THEN YES, THANK YOU HUMAN!”

Alfred passes the controller over his shoulder and leans forwards, bracing his elbows on the coffee table and resting his head on his hands. Papyrus takes his time in figuring out what all the buttons do as Maarten, the last to join them, plops himself onto the chair and curls up on it with a cup of tea.

James turns to make idle conversation with Sans as Papyrus begins the level in earnest.  
“So which part of town do you guys live?”

“near the library. we started out near the edge of town, but paps loved the library so we moved as close as we could get.”

“They tried to close that library down a few years ago, I remember the petition to block the decision. I went to the town meeting!” James says cheerfully, “We stopped them, and no one’s tried to tear it down since.”

“huh. learn something new.”

“Have you joined up too? I haven’t visited for a while…it would be nice to go again.”

“yeah, got a little plastic card and everything. i like the quiet. reminds me of… well, that’s not important.”

James burns with curiosity, he really wants to ask what the quiet reminds Sans of – but he gets the feeling Sans would just deflect the question, so he chooses to ask another,  
“Then let’s go together some time! What kind of books are you interested in?” 

He doesn’t get an answer, because at that exact moment,

“NYEH HEH HEH, ANOTHER PUZZLE SOLVED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

Alfred and Maarten are staring at the screen with mixed expressions of awe and surprise as Papyrus puffs his chest out proudly and grins. James checks the tv screen and sees the 100% complete sign, which means not only has Papyrus completed the level, but he’s also collected every single gem and item in the level.

“How did you do it so easily? That was taking me forever.” Alfred asks, looking slightly put out. Papyrus looks down at him and his grin lessens into something more akin to a gentle smile.

“I HAVE HAD A GREAT AMOUNT OF PRACTICE IN THE ART OF PUZZLES! AS A MAKER OF PUZZLES MYSELF, IF I KNOW THE MECANICS, I CAN SOLVE IT. IT TAKES YEARS OF SKILL AND PRACTICE TO SOLVE HARD PUZZLES AS EASILY AS I DO NOW – AND I KNOW YOU COULD DO IT TOO!”

Papyrus leans forwards and rubs the top of Alfred’s head, ruffling the hair slightly,  
“NEXT TIME, I’LL WATCH YOU SOLVE IT! IF YOU’VE GOTTEN THIS FAR IN THE GAME, THEN YOU MUST ALSO HAVE A SKILL FOR PUZZLE SOLVING!”

“we should be going now, got dinner guests coming round.” Sans pips up, despite the fact he doesn’t move an inch to actually get up. Papyrus perks up and shoots to his feet as Alfred reaches for the controller with a determined glint in his eyes.

“You’re welcome back anytime!” Maarten says chirpily, with a smile, waving with his free hand. James also gets up to show them to the door, but Sans still hasn’t moved and he pauses to watch, giggling, as Papyrus also comes to the conclusion that Sans was too comfortable.

“SANS! THE DINNER GUESTS!”

“sorry bro, the sofa has me in its clutches.”

“WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE BACK!”

“I guess you’ll have to go… sans-sofa.”

“OH FOR STARS ABOVE - !”

Papyrus suddenly leans down and hoists Sans into his arms, huffing in hearty disapproval. Sans does nothing to struggle or put up a fight, letting Papyrus settle him into his side. James laughs and steps aside as Papyrus strides towards the door.

“Oh! Your umbrellas!” James hurries to fetch them, shaking the last of the water free and handing them to Papyrus.  
Sans takes one in his hand, letting it hang limply, and Papyrus takes the other in his free hand.

“I’ll see you guys down.”

This time, they take the stairs. It is still raining when they get to the front door and Papyrus has to adjust Sans so he’s clinging to Papyrus’ front like a baby koala, the spare umbrella nestled between them. Papyrus looks a bit lost for a second before he sheepishly turns to James,  
“UH, HUMAN, COULD YOU HELP ME OPEN THIS UMBRELLA? I HAVE MY HANDS,” He glances down at Sans for a second, pouting briefly, “FULL.”

Sans snorts softly as James steps forwards, “Of course, Papyrus! Here.”  
Papyrus holds the bottom as James pushes the umbrella up and open, making sure the latch catches.

“I’ll see you guys around, safe journey.”

GOODBYE FOR NOW, HUMAN FRIEND.”  
“seeya kiddo.”


	6. Good Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which James gets sick and Papyrus comes to save the day, with Sans in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was quite a long document to write out! It took awhile, but I hope it's come out well.  
> It turned out to be rather dialogue-heavy in some parts but I think it's more interesting that way.

“I’m sorry Lo, I’m still not feeling well…” James pauses to cough deeply into his tissues, and nearly misses the reply.

“It’s fine, James, if you’re not well, you’re not well. I’d rather have you come back to work when you’re better than to have you drag yourself in and spread the germs everywhere.” Lorenzo stated, sounding sympathetic.

“I was really hoping to feel better by now.” James says miserably, “I hate being ill.”

“Well, I hope you get better soon. Papyrus is driving me crazy.”

James laughed softly and coughed again, imagining Papyrus cornering Lorenzo to ask where he was.  
“Is he? Does he keep coming in?”

“You bet. Ever since he caught wind that you were ill, he’s popped in at some point every day so far and inquires about you. Just give him your phone number man, before I do.”

He could feel the eyeroll through the phone and feels a bit bad. “Sorry, he’s not disturbing anyone is he?”

“Na, it’s kinda nice to see actually. He’s just concerned. It’s cute.”

“Tell him I said hello next time you see him?”

“Sure thing. Now go and rest, let me get back to my job.”

“Bye Lo! Have a good shift!”

“Ha! Sure. Bye.”

Click!  
James sighed, putting his phone on the bedside and forcing himself to get up to slowly make his way to the toilet and get a new tissue box. It’s been little over 3 days since the rain and despite not getting wet, he’s still managed to catch a cold. At least Lorenzo was nice enough to insist he stays home. The old floor manager…hadn’t been so kind.  
Still. He’s gone now. And that’s a story best not touched.

It’s not that he wouldn’t go into work. In contrast, he’d love to go into work right now – it was so boring at home all alone and after 3 days he was starting to feel restless.  
Alfred and Maarten were at work, picking up extra shifts to cover his lack-of. He was bored to tears, not even continuing to re-watch MTT – My Neighbour is an Undercover Star! anymore.  
He did wish he had Papyrus’ and Sans’s numbers though… it would be nice to text them for the company. Assuming they weren’t at work or anything. It just kept slipping his mind to ask them!  
He looked at himself in the mirror and winced. Tired eyes, with bags under them, a red sore-looking nose, and a sickly pallor greeted him. His hair hung limply at the front, unwashed, and wild at the back with his tossing and turning.  
Yeah…maybe it was best if he didn’t go in. Besides. He feels okay until he tries to do anything – then he just loses all of his energy.

He ought to make something to eat…but he couldn’t be bothered. So he just sloped back to his room and crawled onto the messy bed, collapsing into an untidy heap and curling up.  
James sniffled. It was hard to breath out of his nose but damn if he wasn’t trying. Slowly, he drifted off into a light sleep.

 

KNOCK KNOCK!  
James awoke groggily, sure he’d heard something but not quite sure if it had been his mind playing tricks on him. He sat up, rubbing sleepy dust from his eyes. Ugh they felt so gummy and horrible.

KNOCK KNOCK!  
Oh! That hadn’t been his imagination! Startled, James quickly wiped his running nose and got out of bed. His head throbbed slightly, that was a new and unwanted development.

“Hang on!” He called out croakily, shoving his nightgown on and stuffing the tissues into the pocket. He shuffled off to the front door and unlatched the lock to swing it open. His eyes widened.

“HUMAN!”  
“Papyrus!”  
“kiddo.”  
“Sans?!”

James leaned to the left and caught sight of Sans standing to the side of Papyrus. He leaned on the door and ignored the pain his head was currently giving him.  
“How did you guys -?”

“I REMEMBERED THE WAY!”

James frowned, still confused, “Yeah, but, how did you guys get past the door downstairs?”

“i took a shortcut.”

What. “What?” That didn’t even make sense! James groaned and stopped trying to think about it. They probably just rang all the other buzzers until someone just let them in.  
“You’re so mysterious, Sans.”

“thanks i try.”

“MAY WE COME IN?” Papyrus says hopefully, James doesn’t have the heart to say no – and also, he’d be grateful for the company. He steps aside and closes the door behind them as Sans immediately makes for the sofa and Papyrus hovers nearby.

“you, uh, look great, kid.” Sans remarks, already sinking into the sofa. He’s staring at James, eye-lights roaming his body and face lazily. James laughs weakly and has to cough again, nearly doubling over from the force of it.

“I’m okay!” He says breathily as Papyrus grabs his upper arm in alarm, trying to steady him. Papyrus guides him to the sofa and lets him slide out of the grip to collapse next to Sans.

“THAT…DOES NOT LOOK ‘OKAY’ TO ME, HUMAN.”

Papyrus is literally one of the best James has ever met but his loud voice was murder on his ears as his head gave an angry throb in response to the words. He winces and gently clasps his head.

“I’ve just got a cold, it’s not so bad.” He tries to assure them, but he knows he’s failing as Papyrus puts a gloved hand on his hip and Sans raises his eyebone in what James assumes is a skeleton’s version of raising an eyebrow.

“FORGIVE ME, BUT YOU LOOK TERRIBLE. WHAT HAVE YOU EATEN TODAY?”  
“didn’t think you were lookin’ so hot when you opened the door, tibia honest.”

“Thanks guys, you sure know how to make me feel special.” James grumbles, even though he’s perfectly aware of how gross he looks right now. He lets out a long-suffering sigh and wraps his nightgown more firmly around himself.  
“Sorry, that was mean.”

“I haven’t eaten anything yet. I – I was gonna get up at some point, I swear!”

Sans laughs lowly, “lier.”  
James glances guiltily at him, picking at his sleeves. “I was resting!”

Papyrus hums and wanders away to the kitchen, although James and Sans can still hear him perfectly from their positions on the sofa.

“THAT WON’T DO AT ALL! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL COOK YOU SOMETHING! PREPARE YOURSELF, HUMAN, FOR MY CUTLINARY MASTERY!”

James smiles softly, despite his headache, and suddenly remembers something,  
“I heard you’ve been in and out of the store, asking about me.” He calls out to Papyrus playfully, grinning.  
He heard something clang on the floor as Papyrus obviously startles,

“WH-WHAT? WELL I! OF…OF COURSE I HAVE! YOU’RE MY FRIEND AND I CARE ABOUT YOU! SPEAKING OF, SANS! HIS NUMBER!”

“Huh?” James’ attention is caught by Sans casually holding a mobile phone out towards him.

“here, put your number in so we can keep contact.”

“Oh! I was gonna ask that too! I just kept forgetting… Sure!” James admits sheepishly, taking the phone and tapping his number in.  
Sans takes his phone back and types something in and then swings the phone so it pointed directly at James.  
James barely had time to blink before he heard the tell-tale ‘click!’ of a camera, and then he squealed loudly, half covering his face with the sleeve of his nightgown.  
“Sans! You had better not have taken a picture!”

“heh. sure did.”

“nO! Delete it! I look horrible!”

“later.”

James gives up and silently pouts. He listens to Papyrus in the kitchen for awhile and settles further into the cushions, sniffling gently every now and then. The silence between him and Sans was comfortable, wrapping round them both like a soft blanket, and neither felt particularly inclined to break it.  
Until James abruptly sneezed into the crook of his arm and had to blow his nose.

“Sorry.” He apologizes for almost sneezing on Sans but Sans shrugs,

“s’not like you can help it.”

He looks at Sans speculatively, “Can you catch colds? You and Papyrus?”

Sans grimaces, “sure can, buddy.”

James scoots away slightly, keen not to accidentally give Sans his germs, and Sans chuckles quietly,  
“we’re a little more resistant than that, you don’t have’ta move.”

“when was the last time either of you had a cold?” James asks curiously, interested in monster biology. How was it possible for skeletons to get a cold? What did it look like?

“not long after we reached the surface, paps and i caught something at the same time. most monsters did.”  
“Oh. Huh. I guess it was something to do with unfamiliar land? Historically speaking, humans who visited places they’d never been before often introduced germs that the land didn’t have, and visa versa.”

“yeah, gathered as much.”

He supposes that monster kind had gotten very lucky, if the worse that’d happened to them was they’d gotten colds. Or at least, he hopes they’d all gotten lucky.  
James jumps violently when Papyrus pips up, having obviously overheard the conversation,

“I DID NOT ENJOY HAVING A COLD! I HAD NOT HAD ONE SINCE I WAS A BABYBONES, AND IT WAS MOST UNPLEASANT AS AN ADULT.”

Sans hums in agreement as Papyrus makes his way over and gently sits on the arm of the sofa. He fixes James under a flat stare,  
“HUMAN. WHY ARE MOST OF YOUR CUPBOARDS BARE? HOW CAN YOU EAT WITH LITTLE TO NO CHOICES OF SPICE OR HERBS?”

“We don’t cook much, to be honest. We don’t have time, and most of the time we all work different shifts and days so there’s never a time to have a meal together. So it’s just easier to grab what we can and the easiest meals are the microwavable ones.”  
Patiently, James explains their eating habits, Papyrus and Sans watching him with varying levels of intent.  
Sans hums contemplatively as Papyrus frowns harder,

“THAT DOESN’T SOUND HEALTHY.”

“Eh. Sometimes we cook. And we each have days where we’re the designated ‘cook’ for the evening, depending on who’s home. Need to go food shopping soon though…”  
He wonders where he left the list. Maybe Alfred took it. He did mention something about shopping this morning, but James had been too groggy to absorb the information.  
Papyrus wanders off towards the kitchen again and James is left with a frowning Sans.

“What?” James asks curiously as Sans continues to stare at him. Sans sighs heavily,

“look kid, i ain’t one to give out life advice, but you should take care of yourself. eat properly, y’know?”

James smiles at him, “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try harder to make fresh meals instead of eating the ready meals. Everyone knows they’re bad for them.”

Papyrus comes back, carefully holding a bowl in his gloved hand and a glass of orange juice in the other. He gently sets them down on the coffee table and brings the table closer so James doesn’t have to get up or sit on the floor to reach it. He hovers nearby, playing with his gloves and adjusting his cape.

“IT IS NOT MY BEST, ADMITTEDLY, AS YOU SEEM TO HAVE LITTLE TO NO INGREDIENTS TO HAND. NEXT TIME, I WILL MAKE SURE TO COME PREPARED! BUT I, I HOPE YOU LIKE IT NEVERTHELESS.”

Papyrus looks almost nervous as James smiles at him and takes the spoon eagerly to scoop some up, blowing on the hot liquid to cool it faster. Sans is lounging next to him, but James gets the feeling he’s under scrutiny. He gulps the spoonful down.

“Papyrus!” His eyes light up, as do his taste buds. He has no idea what’s in this soup but… “This is really nice! Easily the best thing I’ve eaten in days.”  
James laughs, genuinely meaning every word, and is just as delighted when Papyrus’ almost-nervous expression clears right up like sunlight breaking through clouds.  
Papyrus beams down at him as Sans relaxes further into the sofa, the soft and faint glow of orange on his cheeks. Dramatically, he claps his hands to his face and exclaims,

“WOWIE! A GENUINE COMPLIMENT! OF COURSE, I KNEW YOU WOULD LOVE IT – AS I AM A CUTLANARY GENIUS,” He brags loudly, puffing out his chest and throwing a hand out to make his cape flutter, “BUT NOTHING IS BETTER THAN HAVING A FRIEND CHEER YOU ON!”

He smiles at James again, obviously immensely pleased of James’ approval. Sans pats James shoulder,  
“with paps’ cooking, you’ll be better in no time. trust me kid.”

James looks at Sans curiously, but Sans just grins secretively and gestures for him to keep eating as Papyrus finally settles onto the sofa to relax.

“WHEN YOU’RE ILL, NOTHING IS BETTER THAN GOOD COMPANY AND SOME MINDLESS TV SHOW TO WATCH – THEN IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU ZONE OUT.”

He reaches for the remote and clicks the TV on. James is inclined to agree; the skeleton brothers are the best company. He remembers that he’s still got MTT on as the screen flickers to life.  
Mettaton’s devastatingly handsome face fills the screen, paused in the middle of dramatically walking down a spiral staircase in low lighting, wearing the blackest and sleekest of dresses and the glitteriest jewellery James as ever witnessed.  
He still remembers seeing that scene for the first time and being so floored his jaw dropped.  
Both brothers freeze, the remote still in the air and pointed directly at the TV as Sans and Papyrus whip their heads round to stare at James.  
Sans is staring at him with incredulity, eyebones raising. Papyrus, on the other hand, has stars in his eyes and is positively vibrating with glee.

“really kiddo?”  
“YOU WATCH METTATON TOO??? IT’S MY FAVOURITE SHOW! WOWIE! I CAN’T BELIEVE I’VE BEEN SO LUCKY TO HAVE FOUND A FRIEND LIKE YOU!”

James squirms under Sans’ unimpressed look, shooting him a guilty look.  
“It’s fun to watch!” He defends himself, Sans chuckles and settles back again,

“it’s alright, kid, i’m only ribbing ya.”

James turns to Papyrus, “It’s my favourite show too! I’ve followed it since the beginning!” He says cheerfully, happy to have another fan to talk to. “What’s your favourite season so far?”

Papyrus slaps the remote down enthusiastically and launches into words as James takes the opportunity to eat more of his soup.  
“I THOUGHT THE FIRST SEASON WAS VERY STRONG, AND BRAVE TOO – IT INCLUDED A CAST FULL OF BOTH HUMANS AND MONSTERS DURING A TIME WHEN THINGS WERE STILL LOOKING UNCERTAIN. THERE’S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT THE EXISTENCE OF THE SHOW HELPED EASE TENSIONS. MEDIA IS A VERY POWERFUL TOOL!

THE SECOND SEASON IS FUN AND FULL OF EXPERIMENTATION! MY FAVOURITE EPISODE WAS THE SNOW ADVENTURE ONE, BECAUSE IT REMINDED ME OF HOME.  
AND THE THIRD SEASON ALMOST OUTDID THE FIRST IN TERMS OF DRAMATIC TWISTS! WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE EPISODE WHERE METTATON HAD TO BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN HIS COVER?? I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY CLEVER!

HMMM, I GUESS I JUST CAN’T CHOOSE! ALL SEASONS ARE EQUALLY AS GOOD AS THE OTHER! I CAN’T WAIT FOR SEASON FOUR TO START AIRING! THE CLIFFHANGER WHERE ‘AMY’ WALKED INTO THE ROOM TO SEE METTATON’S SIGNITURE STAR DRESS WAS VERY NERVEWRACKING!”

Papyrus beamed at him brightly, eagerly awaiting his response, and James hastily swallowed his soup and sniffled into a tissue in order to answer,  
“When I first saw the posters for it, I was curious. Mettaton was so open about how he dresses that it drew me to him. So, I started watching, and I really liked the pacing of the plot and the characters. Mettaton has such a…larger than life personality. He poured so much passion into every line, I guess I just got hooked.

I also really liked the music. One of my favourite episodes from the first season was the musical production one. It had some fantastic pieces of music in it!  
He always made me laugh with how dramatic he was, I watch it all the time when I’m feeling down because he’s so positive and funny. So the episode where he had to be in two places at once was brilliant to me, it was full of tropes and funny moments.”

“heh. i like the jokes, they really tickle my funny bone.”

James laughs loudly and has to cough again, Papyrus firmly pats him on the back as he groans loudly at the pun. James shoots Sans a curious look,  
“I thought you didn’t like the show?”

Sans shrugs, “eh. never said that i didn’t like it, i watch it for the laughs. won’t deny that it’s a well put-together show.”

James smiles at him. He gets the feeing that Sans watches the show mostly because Papyrus likes to watch it, which is a sweet thought.  
He pushes the bowl away and Papyrus puts the table back to rights, and they settle back. James curls up on the sofa as Papyrus presses play on the remote and Mettaton springs to life again.

“gotta admit, the theme song is catchy.” Sans acknowledges suddenly, “think it was done by napstablook.”

“It was,” James confirms lazily, getting far too comfortable on the sofa despite his blocked nose and slightly pounding head. His sore throat has been somewhat soothed by the soup, for which he was grateful as it made coughing less painful. “Says so in the credits.”

“sweet.”

They lapse into comfortable silence, watching the show. Sans is slowly falling asleep and Papyrus is practically leaning off the sofa, completely absorbed in the show. James is much more inclined to follow Sans’ lead, as much as he loves the show.  
He’s warm, he’s fed and watered, and he’s comfortable. Ever so slowly, he finds himself drifting in and out of focus and consciousness.

 

The next thing he’s aware of is Papyrus’ voice. It’s soft, quiet, and that fact alone almost shocks him into wakefulness.  
He’s obviously fallen asleep but it’s only when the soft cushioning he’s leaning on shifts that he realizes he’s fallen asleep on Sans.

“Should we wake him, brother? It can’t be comfortable to sleep in that position for long.”

Sans shifts again, “donno bro, he looks pretty sparko.”

He decides that it would be mean to continue sleeping on Sans, forcing the brothers to stay with him even though he’s unconscious and therefore, not much company. After all, they’re his guests.  
James stirs, rousing himself into the waking world slowly, sitting up to spare Sans the awkward hello from where he was leaning against the skeleton.

“What time is it?” He asks, yawning into his hand. He notices that his headache was gone and feels better, even though his nose is still very much blocked and he’s still tired.

“IT IS 4:37 IN THE AFTERNOON, HUMAN. YOU FELL ASLEEP HALFWAY THROUGH THE 8TH EPISODE BUT THAT’S OKAY, RESTING IS THE BEST WAY TO REGAIN LOST STRENGHT WHEN YOU’RE ILL!”  
Papyrus is back to his louder volume of speaking, but James hasn’t the heart to bring it up. Besides, then he would be admitting he’d been awake.  
He yawns again and Sans does the same, making James laugh. Monster or human, yawns were still infectious.

“I had better crawl into bed again, to be honest.” James says reluctantly, because he still feels tired and he doesn’t trust himself not to fall asleep on Sans again. The skeleton was surprisingly comfortable.

“I’m...bone tired.” He grins at Sans, pleased with himself for coming up with that one. It takes a second for Sans to react and he snorts loudly, covering his mouth to muffle laughter as Papyrus makes an offended noise,

“NYEH!! HUMAN! NOT YOU TOO! SANS, YOU ARE A BAD INFLUENCE! YOUR TERRIBLE TASTE IN HUMOR IS SPREADING!”  
But Papyrus is grinning hard, and he rubs a hand against the top of James’ hair, messing it up even more.  
Sans wipes a curiously luminescent blue tear from a socket and pats James on the arm.

“you really got me with that one.”

James grins proudly, pleased with himself, and slowly heaves himself off of the sofa.  
“Sorry to turf you guys out.” He apologises, picking up the empty bowl and glass to take to the kitchen, but Papyrus takes them from him and whisks them away.  
Sans also stands, straightening out his jacket and picking some lint off the sleeves.

“no sweat kid, you need to get some proper sleep. s’when your body does most of its healing.”

James nods slowly at him and watches him stroll lazily away towards the front door. Papyrus makes his way back and engulfs James in a hug.  
Papyrus is a lot taller and James’ face is smushed lightly into his chest and he has to raise his hands to cradle Papyrus’ upper ‘back’ in order to hug him back.

“GOODBYE HUMAN! IT WAS GOOD TO SEE YOU TODAY, EVEN IF YOU WERE ILL! DO MAKE SURE TO TEXT!”

“Goodbye Papyrus, Sans, you’re welcome back any time. Next time we hang out, we should go somewhere together! I’ll text you my rota so you know when I’m off.”

Papyrus lets him go and bounds to the door, where Sans is waiting. Both of them wave as they head out the door.

“take care of yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done some art for the fic! ( http://panapplesart.tumblr.com/post/173002674100/a-finished-version-of-the-sketch-i-posted-i )  
> ( http://panapplesart.tumblr.com/post/172142277300/sans-and-papyrus-it-took-me-forever-to-figure )  
> I also intend to draw Mettaton's mentioned star dress and some other bits and pieces.
> 
> Well, it's a wrap for today, I'll see you in another couple of weeks! :)


End file.
